The present invention relates to a molding fastener assembly for mounting a molding to a vehicle body. In particular, the present invention relates to a molding fastener assembly suitable for mounting a side molding for filling in a gap between an edge of a windshield and a vertical wall of a vehicle body adjacent to an opening of the vehicle body to which the windshield is mounted.
A windshield molding for covering the gap caused between the windshield and the vehicle body is formed in an elongated shape in connection with the shape of the gap, and it is necessary for the molding to be securely fastened over its entire length to guard against the strong wind pressure acting on the windshield. Generally, in the body vertical wall opposite to the windshield edge to be fixed to the body opening, an elongate-shaped retainer for fastening a metallic molding is firmly fixed over a predetermined range of the body vertical wall along the gap between the windshield edge and the body opening by a rivet or the like. Then, an engagement edge of the elongate molding is fitted into and fastened on this retainer. Stainless steel, so-called SUS material, is used for the retainer in view to rust prevention. However, it has been required to spend a lot of labor and cost for manufacturing processes, for example, of bending and pressing the stainless steel in conformity with the shape of the gap. In order to cope with this problem, a molding fastener assembly has been developed which is directed to maintain high strength of fastening various moldings including the windshield molding and to achieve cost-reduction by facilitating the operations for fixing a clip of the fastener assembly.
The above noted molding fastener assembly comprises a known blind rivet, and a resin clip including a base to be fixed to a vehicle body and a platy molding holder continuously extending from the base. The clip base is formed with a hole for receiving a hollow rivet body of the blind rivet. The rivet body of the blind rivet is inserted into the hole of the base and a hole of the vehicle body, and then a mandrel of the blind rivet is strongly pulled off to break it with the use of a fastening or clamping tool so as to retain the clip firmly to the vehicle body. The molding holder of the clip includes a clamp portion for receiving and sandwiching an engagement end of the molding, and an engagement pawl serving as a coming-off preventing mechanism. The clip is further formed with an engagement portion projecting from the clamp portion and the engagement pawl, viewed from the direction of inserting the molding, to be engaged with a cutout of the molding. The engagement portion is formed with a slit to be engaged with the edge of the molding cutout to retain the molding. The molding is formed with the cutout to be engaged with the molding-cutout engagement portion. Thus, by a simple operation of positioning the molding to match the molding cutout with the molding-cutout engagement portion of the clip and moving the molding with respect to the clip along the wall surface of the vehicle body, the engagement end of the molding is sandwiched by the clip, and the cutout of the molding is engaged with the molding-cutout engagement portion of the clip. Thus, without any tool, a desirable strong fastening for supporting the molding of the windshield may be provided to firmly fix the molding to the vehicle body. Further, using a blind rivet clamping tool allows the clip to be readily attached so that cost reduction may be facilitated.
The above noted molding fastener assembly has achieved a satisfactory result in that the molding may be readily attached without any tool, and sufficient fastening strength can be achieved after the attaching operations. In this molding fastener assembly, the engagement pawls of the clip have an engagement strength which is slightly lower in the pulling off direction in consideration of replacement and other operations for the molding. Thus, the molding may be detached by pulling off the molding perpendicular to the windshield surface from the clip. However, the strength of the engagement pawls must be dealt with. In order to release the pawls, a dedicated detaching tool is needed. This requires additional cost, time and effort in order to forceably pull off the molding. In this case, the clip may not be reused due to breakage of the engagement pawls. Therefore, to attach a molding in the future, it is necessary to remove the broken clip and to attach a new clip. However, since the broken clip is firmly mounted to the vehicle body by the blind rivet as described above, it was difficult to remove the clip and the rivet and to attach the new clip.
Another prior molding fastener assembly included a blind rivet having a rivet body formed with two separated flanges that were fixed to the vehicle body. A clip was attached to a shank of the rivet body between the two flanges, and a molding was engaged with the clip. In this molding fastener assembly, while the clip was fitted onto and mounted on the shank of the rivet body fixed to the vehicle body, there is no description and suggestion concerning the detaching operation. Also, this is not intended for mounting the side molding of the windshield. Another molding fastener assembly included a clip attached to a T-stud fixed to the vehicle body, and a molding fixed to a vehicle body by engaging the molding with the clip. This molding fastener assembly does not include any disclosure of the clip being fixed to the vehicle body by the use of a blind rivet. In addition, there is no suggestion concerning the detaching operation of the clip. Another prior disclosure is of a plate coupler for fastening inner and outer panels of a door by the use of a blind rivet, and fixing a clip to a vehicle body in conjunction with the attaching operation of the blind rivet. In this coupler, a molding is used to conceal the blind rivet, and the coupler is not intended for fastening a windshield molding. In addition, there is no suggestion concerning the detaching operation of the clip. Also, prior fasteners use a blind rivet having a resin cap for attachment to a panel. The resin cap may be formed with a two-step flange. The distance between the flanges is adequate to allow the resin cap to function as a mount when the blind rivet is fixed to the panel. However, such devices do not disclose a clip for fastening to a molding in attachment, nor does it include any suggestion concerning the detaching operation of the clip.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a molding fastener assembly capable of allowing a molding to be detached in spite of high fastening forces and capable of removing an accidentally damaged clip and attaching a new clip without any difficulty, and still readily attaching the molding.
In order to achieve the object, the present invention provides a molding fastener assembly comprises a clip including a base to be fixed to a vehicle body and a molding holder integrated with the base, and a blind rivet including a hollow, tubular rivet body having a flange at one end thereof and a mandrel extending through the rivet body beyond the flange from the other tip end thereof opposite to the flange, wherein the blind rivet is adapted to retain the clip to the vehicle body and the retained clip allows a molding to be mounted to the vehicle body by attaching the molding to the retained clip. In this molding fastener assembly, the rivet body has a shank covered with a hollow, tubular resin cap extending from the tip end of the rivet body toward the flange. This resin cap is formed with a flange at a position spaced apart from the flange of the rivet body toward the tip end of the rivet body by a predetermined distance equal to or more than the thickness of the base of the clip. Further, the mandrel is adapted to be pulled off to fix the rivet body with the resin cap to a vehicle body while keeping the flange of the resin cap in contact with the vehicle body and keeping the flange of the rivet body at the predetermined distance from the vehicle body. Furthermore, the base of the clip includes a recess for receiving the shank of the rivet body with the resin cap between the flange of the rivet body and the flange of the resin cap, and an engagement pawl provided at an inlet of the recess. This engagement pawl is formed in a configuration to prevent the shank of the rivet body received in the recess from coming off the recess.
According to this molding fastener assembly, the clip base includes the recess for receiving the rivet body shank with the resin cap between the rivet body flange and the resin cap flange, and an engagement pawl provided at the recess inlet. Further, the engagement pawl is formed in a configuration to prevent the rivet body shank received in the recess from coming off the recess. Thus, the clip may be firmly mounted to the rivet. Further, a strong fastening of the molding may be maintained without any tool, and a simple attaching operation of the molding may also be maintained. Furthermore, in a detaching operation of the molding, the molding may be readily detached with the clip from the rivet by forcedly pulling off the clip from the rivet body shank. If the clip is not broken, the clip may be attached by fitting the clip recess onto the rivet body shank again and a molding may be readily attached. In the detaching operation of the clip, only the clip has a possibility of being broken, but the rivet body (or the resin cap) is never broken. Even if the clip is broken, the rivet body (and the resin cap) fixed to the vehicle body is reusable simply by replacing the clip so that the re-attaching operation may be readily carried out. Thus, the fastening rivet has no possibility of being broken in the detaching operation of the molding so that the detaching operation of the clip and molding may be readily carried our and the re-attaching operation of the new molding may be readily carried out, with leaving the fastening rivet as it is.
In the present invention, the rivet body of the blind rivet may have the above flange as a first flange, and a second flange at a position spaced apart from the first flange toward the tip end of the rivet body by a predetermined distance equal to or more than the thickness of the base of the clip. The mandrel may be adapted to be pulled off to fix the rivet body to a vehicle body while keeping the second flange in contact with the vehicle body and keeping the first flange at the predetermined distance from the vehicle body. The base of the clip may include a recess for receiving the shank of the rivet body between the first and second flanges of the rivet body fixed to the vehicle body, and an engagement pawl is provided at an inlet of the recess. This engagement pawl may be formed in a configuration to prevent the shank of the rivet body received in the recess from coming off the recess. As with the above invention, this allows the clip and molding to be readily detached and allows a new molding to be attached again, with leaving the fastening rivet as it is.
According to the present invention, there are provided a molding fastener assembly comprising a first clip including a base to be fixed to a vehicle body and a molding holder integrated with the base, and clip retaining means for retaining the first clip to the vehicle body, wherein the retaining means is adapted to retain the first clip to the vehicle body and the retained first clip allows a molding to be mounted to the vehicle body by attaching the molding to the retained first clip. In this molding fastener assembly, the retaining means serves as a second clip including a shank adapted to be inserted into a mounting hole of a vehicle body, a first flange provided at one end of the shank, a supporting shank portion extending from the first flange in a direction to extend the shank by a predetermined distance equal to or more than the thickness of the base of the clip, and a second flange provided at the end of the supporting shank portion. This second clip is adapted to be attached to a vehicle body by inserting the shank into the mounting hole of the vehicle body. Further, the base of the first clip includes a recess for receiving the supporting shank portion of the second clip fixed to the vehicle body, and an engagement pawl provided at an inlet of the recess. This engagement pawl is formed in a configuration to prevent the supporting shank portion received in the recess from coming off the recess. Since the second clip is unbreakable, this allows the clip and molding to be readily detached and allows a new molding to be attached again, with the second clip as it is.
In the above molding fastener assembly, in which a molding has been previously fastened to the molding holder of the clip, the base is preferably adapted to be fitted onto and retained by the rivet body shank, or the first clip base is preferably adapted to be retained by the supporting shank portion of the second clip. Thus, the molding may be attached to the vehicle body by carrying the molding and then pushing the molding into the rivet or the second clip without the need of holding the clip. The same applies if the first clip had been involved.
Further, the engagement pawl is preferably provided as a pair engagement pawls, opposed to each other, at the inlet of the recess. In this case, one of engagement pawls is formed to have a lower fastening force than that of the other engagement pawl, and to have a lower strength than that of the shank received in the recess. Thus, even if the clip is broken, the engagement pawl having a lower fastening force will be broken first. This will provide for a secure and stable detaching operation.